-I’m so damn happy that Naomi didn’t lean into the cheers she got during her show opening championship victory promo this week. She’s a heel and she acted like one. That’s how it’s done. Take note Mr. Bron Breakker.
Triple Threat finally makes sense
-Because Naomi interrupted the Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley match at WWE Evolution 2 for her Money in the Bank cash in, it makes total sense to run a triple threat match between all three women at Summerslam. I’m not a triple threat fan, but it makes sense to do it here.
-Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky were both strong babyface losers this week. They brought up the loss, but didn’t wine about it.
-I just love the notion that Finn Balor is shining up all the Judgment Day championship belts. It’s such a slimy move and Balor plays it so well trying — well, faking — to be a genuine friend to his faction. They continue to set the table for a big Liv Morgan return when she gets back from injury.
-Wow, and just like that The Judgment Day dusts The Kabuki Warriors. On one hand, they are the champs and wins like this one should be somewhat commonplace. On the other hand, Kabuki Warriors just got back together and are already on a losing streak.
We got answers
-Alright, well we know that Seth Rollins is going to be out for less than a year. We don’t know anything else about the injury, but I’m confident in that timetable because per Paul Heyman he’s hanging onto his Money in the Bank briefcase. This is the right call. A year is a long time and Seth has a lot of the Raw brand on his shoulders. No need to derail plans for him if he’s only going to be out for a little while.
-Lyra Valkyria vs. Bayley in a two out of three falls bout was a really fun watch, but why does there have to be a quick pin in every single one of these? It’s obnoxious and counter to what WWE does in their matches almost every single time. Lyra vs. Becky Lynch in a singles match at Summerslam for the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship is a big deal and huge match for Lyra. This storyline seemingly was to get to this match and to then put Lyra over huge. She’s grown by leaps and bounds since she began working with Becky. The plan is working.
-Good to see Nikki Bella get a win. It came at the expense of Chelsea Green, but that’s the kind of heel she is. She helped make Nikki look really good out there. Stephanie Vaquer will do the same thing for Nikki. Look for those two to team up in the near future after the save angle we saw this week. Vaquer should get a nice mainstream rub by working with Bella.
Kross-verse
-Is there a Karrion Kross-verse in WWE right now? Like the Cody-verse in AEW, but for Karrion Kross? He cut a fine little backstage promo this week on Sami Zayn, but his material seems disconnected from everything else that’s going on in the show.
-Dominik Mysterio is so good. Just so good. The way he sold for Adam Pearce as he found out about getting a second medical opinion was top notch heel comedy stuff. The Styles and Dominik match is nearing the point of being too comedic, but they haven’t crossed that line yet.
-Bron Breakker got a big push on the show this week. With Seth Rollins having to be away, the goal was to clearly lean on Breakker in his absence. For the most part, it worked. Breakker looked like a star and got the popular “run through everyone” spot in the Gauntlet Match. He needs to commit to being a bad guy, though. Still there are way too many cheers and barks for him in the audience. As a heel, he should want to do something about those, so that the babyfaces he works with are in the best position possible to succeed.
-CM Punk looked fine in his Gauntlet Match victory and now heads to Summerslam to face Gunther for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That’s a strong match for Summerslam and should get the main event nod on one of the nights.
OTC 1
-Roman Reigns is back. OTC 1. How about that pop for Reigns? Over a decade later, WWE finally got the babyface reaction they’ve always wanted for Roman. That was a tremendous return. A big time reaction and some great in-ring fire from Reigns. If Seth vs. Reigns was the plan for Summerslam, do we get to see Breakker vs. Reigns now? I’d certainly like to see that match and would almost be more interested in how Triple H books a finish between those two prized possessions of his.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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